Comments on: In defense of our Greatest Twitter-ers.http://www.catholicvote.org/in-defense-of-our-greatest-twitter-ers/
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 16:24:01 +0000hourly1By: Tom Crowehttp://www.catholicvote.org/in-defense-of-our-greatest-twitter-ers/comment-page-1/#comment-43408
Tom CroweThu, 23 Jun 2011 11:19:20 +0000http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=18080#comment-43408Hoopes— First, I’m with you on the “it’s summer! Why is this campus busier than during the semester!?” And I would have laughed at a 140-character response. But it would have abused your point. ——— Do you pretend that those of us who tweet have altered all our communications to 140-character snippets? Or might we grab “highlights” from longer works to make a point, along with a shortened url, to get people to read the full thing? The latter was the point of my post. Those folks would still have made their speeches, but would have been able to tantalize people into reading/listening to more. ——— Does twitter make one evil? No: one chooses to become shallow by not drilling down further and responding to a quick snippet. Twitter may make this easier for some and our concupiscence may make this an easier choice for some, but it is still a choice. Twitter is still the morally neutral tool, regardless of what that scary quote says (citation for that?). But, as has been my point: ’twas ever thus, if a little more difficult. ——— The Amway stuff is the latest version of water-cooler talk: who watched what on TV last night and what do we all think about it and what’s wrong with you that you didn’t watch the same show we all did; who bought what thing they’re wearing and where and how much it cost and what’s wrong with you that you’re still wearing those old togs; who hates the coffee at the office and where they get their morning joe with what kind of creamer and what’s wrong with you that you still drink the office swill. Ads have always tried to insinuate their way into our social psyche, even back when they were merely in magazines and newspapers. Not sure why Facebook is so bad for taking this into the next phase. ——— Neglect is a choice, as is tweeting, as are soap operas, reading books, crocheting, and so many other activities that one can choose to do rather than do something they ought to do. Again: ’twas ever thus, but twitter gets more notice. ———— See, I’m not saying there are no deleterious effects to the latest culture of Facebook and Twitter: they both allow us an easier avenue to be shallow and fake. We were perfectly capable of both before, but these do make it easier. I do not dispute that. But I note that you haven’t addressed or really admitted to any of the good point I’ve raised about social media: necessary information can be shared more broadly more quickly; shut-ins don’t feel as alone; grandma can actually see picture of grandkids who live too far away; the pro-life effect of the internet; not to mention the mass movements of people who have been able to tell the world about merciless government crackdowns in their homeland. Yes: there are some negatives to what choices social media make easier, but there are great benefits to what they enable as well. And since they aren’t going away any time soon, it makes more sense to redeem the time rather than try to turn back the clock.
]]>By: Tom Hoopeshttp://www.catholicvote.org/in-defense-of-our-greatest-twitter-ers/comment-page-1/#comment-43397
Tom HoopesThu, 23 Jun 2011 02:06:43 +0000http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=18080#comment-43397Well, I started a post on this but couldn’t finish it … very busy at the college right now, ironically (it’s summer!). Then I considered posting a 140 character response to make a point, but that looked obnoxious. I hope to develop it more later, but for the moment, I’ll leave the 140-character version here, with the links following.
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@TomCrowe Great speeches & quotes; alas, not tweets. Now, argue it in 140 characters! (Also, account for brain research. And Amway-ized friendships. And neglect.)
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[brain research] http://theweek.com/article/index/95375/does-twitter-make-you-evil
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[Amway-ized friendships] http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_40/b4197064860826.htm
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[Neglect] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1355346/Twitter-mothers-spend-hours-blogging-neglect-children.html
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